2dry verb
dries; dried; dry·ing 1 a [+ obj] : to remove water or moisture from (something or someone) : to make (something or someone) dry
▪ I'll wash the dishes if you dry them. ▪ Make sure you dry your hands. ▪ He dried himself with the towel. ▪ Stop crying and dry your eyes.
b [no obj] : to make plates, dishes, pots, etc., dry by rubbing them with a towel
▪ I'll wash and you dry, okay? 2 [no obj] : to become dry
▪ Your shirt is drying on the clothesline. ▪ The paint dried overnight. — see also air-dry, drip-dry, freeze-dry
▪ I'll wash the dishes if you dry them. ▪ Make sure you dry your hands. ▪ He dried himself with the towel. ▪ Stop crying and dry your eyes.
b [no obj] : to make plates, dishes, pots, etc., dry by rubbing them with a towel
▪ I'll wash and you dry, okay?
▪ Your shirt is drying on the clothesline. ▪ The paint dried overnight. — see also air-dry, drip-dry, freeze-dry
dry off [phrasal verb] 1 a : to become dry
▪ My umbrella's drying off in the hall.
b : to make your body dry
▪ We got out of the pool and dried off. 2 dry off (someone or something) or dry (someone or something) off : to make (someone or something) dry
▪ He dried off the bench and sat down. ▪ Dry yourself off and get dressed.
▪ My umbrella's drying off in the hall.
b : to make your body dry
▪ We got out of the pool and dried off.
▪ He dried off the bench and sat down. ▪ Dry yourself off and get dressed.
dry out [phrasal verb] 1 : to become dry
▪ Water the plant every week; don't allow the soil to dry out completely. 2 dry out (something) or dry (something) out : to make (something) dry
▪ The wind dries out my eyes. ▪ Baking at a high temperature will dry the meat out. ▪ We dried out our shoes near the fire. 3 informal : to stop using drugs or alcohol for a period of time especially by going to a special kind of hospital
▪ After years of alcoholism, he went to a clinic to dry out.
▪ Water the plant every week; don't allow the soil to dry out completely.
▪ The wind dries out my eyes. ▪ Baking at a high temperature will dry the meat out. ▪ We dried out our shoes near the fire.
▪ After years of alcoholism, he went to a clinic to dry out.
dry up [phrasal verb] 1 : to become completely dry
▪ The river/well is drying up. ▪ The stream dries up every summer. 2 dry up (something) or dry (something) up : to make (something) dry
▪ The sun had dried up the roads an hour after it stopped raining. 3 informal : to go away or disappear completely
▪ Interest in the project dried up when he withdrew his support. ▪ After several months, new leads in the murder investigation dried up. 4 dry up (something) or dry (something) up : to cause the supply of (something) to go away or disappear
▪ Closing the factory dried up local job opportunities. 5 informal + impolite — used as a command to tell someone to stop talking ▪ Oh, dry up! [=shut up] I'm sick of hearing what you have to say. ▪ He told her to dry up.
▪ The river/well is drying up. ▪ The stream dries up every summer.
▪ The sun had dried up the roads an hour after it stopped raining.
▪ Interest in the project dried up when he withdrew his support. ▪ After several months, new leads in the murder investigation dried up.
▪ Closing the factory dried up local job opportunities.
hang (someone or something) out to dry — see hang out at 1hang
